Electric equipment

ABSTRACT

To provide an electric equipment which has a function in which parameter is set, and enables a user to appropriately adjust the parameters regardless of an ability level of user. A plurality of reception screens having different degrees of detail for received instructions for adjusting parameters are displayed depending on the ability level of user to adjust the appropriate parameters, such as maintenance ability, or presence or absence of the specialized knowledge for the apparatus, or the like, thus the user adjusts the parameter using the reception screen suitable for the user.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/390,941 filed on Oct. 6, 2014, which is the national phase under 35U.S.C. §371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2013/60880 whichhas an International filing date of Apr. 11, 2013 and designated theUnited States of America.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to adjustment of parameter for an electricequipment in which a plurality of parameters are set in a function.

2. Description of Related Art

Recently, public facilities, convenience stores, or the like, areprovided with an apparatus such as a printer or a multi-functionperipheral and a user may pay a prescribed charge to use the apparatus.

However, at the time of the occurrence of trouble, adjusting performanceof a prescribed function, or the like, a prescribed time for a serviceman to arrive on the spot is required, and therefore a manager (forexample, store-owner) of the apparatus needs to perform some degree oftemporary measures.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-69738discloses an image forming apparatus which detects a position shift in adirection orthogonal to a sheet feeding direction, and when an amount ofthe position shift exceeds a reference value, corrects the positionshift, and enables the service man or a user to arbitrarily change thereference value.

SUMMARY

Meanwhile, since a plurality of parameters are often set in onefunction, the apparatus needs to adjust the plurality of parametersrelating to the function so as to resolve a trouble, adjust theperformance of the function or the like.

However, there is a great difference in maintenance ability, specializedknowledge, and the like between the service man and the store-owner, andeven in similar service men, they have a difference in maintenanceability due to a difference in experience.

Therefore, the adjustment of the parameters may be affected by theseindividual differences.

That is, a skilled service man may adjust in detail the parametersaccording to a use situation of the apparatus, but an unskilled serviceman such as a store-owner may not adjust in detail the parameters.

In addition, a considerable number of operation screens provided toadjust the prescribed function (parameters) need a complicated anddifficult operation and require specific maintenance ability,specialized knowledge, and the like to a certain degree or more.Therefore, the operation screen has poor operability and is difficult tooperate appropriately, and therefore intensifies confusion forinexperienced persons such as an unskilled service man or a store-owner.

In consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is an objectof the present invention to provide an electric equipment having afunction in which parameter is set, wherein a plurality of receptionscreens having different degrees of detail for received instructions foradjusting the parameter are displayed depending on an ability level ofuser to adjust the parameters, such as maintenance ability, presence orabsence of specialized knowledge for the apparatus, or the like, andthereby the user may appropriately adjust the parameters regardless ofhis level of ability.

According to the present invention, there is provided an electricequipment having a function in which parameter is set, including: adisplay unit configured to display a plurality of reception screenshaving different degrees of detail for received instructions foradjusting the parameter.

According to the present invention, the reception screens having thedifferent degrees of detail for received instructions for adjusting theparameter depending on the ability level of user who adjusts theparameter such as the maintenance ability, the presence or absence ofspecialized knowledge for the apparatus, or the like are displayed onthe display unit, thus the user adjusts the parameter of the functionthrough the reception screen suitable for his own ability.

In the electric equipment according to the present invention, theplurality of reception screens receive input of parameter values at thetime of receiving the instruction, and includes: a large gap inputreception screen configured to receive an input of values having aninterval equal to or more than a threshold value; and a small gap inputreception screen configured to receive an input of values having aninterval narrower than the threshold value.

According to the present invention, the large gap input reception screenmay receive the input of the values having the interval equal to or morethan the threshold value at the time of receiving the input of theparameter values, and the small gap input reception screen may receivethe input of the values having the interval narrower than the thresholdvalue.

The electric equipment according to the present invention may include anumber reception section configured to receive an input of number,wherein the small gap input reception screen may receive the input ofthe value through the number reception section, the large gap inputreception screen may include an instruction reception section configuredto receive an instruction for displaying the values having the intervalequal to or more than the threshold value in an ascending order or adescending order, and may receive the input of the value based on thevalue displayed according to the instruction received by the instructionreception section.

According to the present invention, the number reception sectionreceives the input of the number from the user, and the small gap inputreception screen receives the input of the value based on the numberreceived by the number reception section. When a prescribed value isdisplayed on the display unit according to the instruction received bythe instruction reception section from the user, the large gap inputreception screen receive the input of the value, based on the displayedvalue.

The electric equipment according to the present invention may include astorage unit configured to store a plurality of values having aprescribed interval, wherein the large gap input reception screen mayinclude selection reception section configured to receive a selectionfrom a user corresponding to each of the plurality of values, and whenany one of the selection reception section is selected, may adjust theparameter based on a value corresponding to the selected selectionreception section

According to the present invention, the large gap input reception screenincludes the selection reception section corresponding to each of theplurality of values stored in the storage unit, and when any one of theselection reception section are selected by the user, the valuecorresponding to the selected selection reception section is read fromthe storage unit and the parameter is adjusted based on the read value.

The electric equipment according to the present invention may include areception section configured to receive user identification data,wherein the display unit may display any one of the reception screensbased on the user identification data received by the reception section.

According to the present invention, when the reception section receivesthe user identification data, the display unit displays the large gapinput reception screen or the small gap input reception screen based onthe user identification data received by the reception section.

According to the present invention, the plurality of reception screenshaving the different degrees of detail for received instructions foradjusting the parameter are displayed depending on the ability level ofuser to adjust the parameter, such as the maintenance ability, thepresence or absence of specialized knowledge for the apparatus, or thelike, the user may appropriately adjust the parameters regardless of hisability level.

The above and further objects and features will move fully be apparentfrom the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration ofmain components of a multi-function peripheral according to Embodiment 1of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of a simpleoperation screen displayed on a display unit in the multi-functionperipheral according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of a detailedoperation screen displayed on the display unit in the multi-functionperipheral according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing a case of adjusting parameters usingthe simple operation screen or the detailed operation screen in themulti-function peripheral according to Embodiment 1 of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of a simpleoperation screen displayed on a display unit in a multi-functionperipheral according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of a detailedoperation screen displayed on the display unit in the multi-functionperipheral according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of a simpleoperation screen displayed on a display unit in the multi-functionperipheral according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually describing a parameter value tablestored in a storage unit in the multi-function peripheral according toEmbodiment 3 of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Recently, since a function of electric equipment often has a pluralityof parameters set therein, there is a need to adjust the plurality ofparameters relating to the function so as to adjust the function.

For example, according to a multi-function peripheral, in a fixingfunction using a fixing roller and a pressing roller and fixing anon-fixed toner image on a recording paper passing through a fixing nippart between the rollers onto the recording paper, an example ofparameters relating to a fixing temperature may include a temperature ofheater lamps of the fixing roller and the pressing roller.

In more detail, two places (a central portion and both end portions) ofthe fixing roller are provided with the heater lamps and one place (thecentral portion) of the pressing roller is provided with the heaterlamp. That is, the parameters in the fixing function include atemperature of the three heater lamps.

In addition, in order to adjust the fixing temperature, there is a needto adjust the three heater lamps of the fixing roller and the pressingroller. However, the adjustment is different depending on a kind ofrecording paper used (for example, plain paper, thick paper, OHP film,and the like), a size (for example, A4, A5, B4, B5, and the like) of therecording paper, a place direction (for example, longitudinal directionor short direction), and the like, but is also affected by usesituations of the multi-function peripheral.

However, in order to operate an operation screen provided by themulti-function peripheral for adjustment of the parameters, maintenanceability, specialized knowledge, or the like to a certain degree or moremay be often required. For this reason, since the operation screen haspoor operability, unskilled persons such as an unskilled service man ora store-owner have difficulty to appropriately operate the operationscreen. The present invention relates to the above problem.

Hereinafter, a case in which an electric equipment according to anembodiment of the present invention is applied to a multi-functionperipheral will be described in detail, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, for the convenienceof explanation, as described above, a case of the temperature adjustmentin the fixing function will be described by way of example. Further,hereinafter, in the fixing roller, a heater lamp at a central portion isreferred to as a “TH-UM”, heater lamps at the both end portions arereferred to as a “TH-US1”, and a heater lamp at a central portion of thepressing roller is referred to as a “TH-LM1”.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration ofmain components of a multi-function peripheral 100 according toEmbodiment 1 of the present invention. The multi-function peripheral 100includes a CPU (reception section) 1, a ROM 2, a RAM 3, a storage unit4, a display unit 5, a display control unit 6, an image input unit 7, animage output unit 8, an image processing unit 9, and an operation panel10.

The ROM 2 is pre-stored with various control programs, basically fixeddata among parameters for calculation, and the like, and the RAM 3 maytemporarily store data and read the data irrespective of a storageorder, a storage location and the like. Further, the RAM 3 stores, forexample, programs read from the ROM 2, various data generated by runningthe programs, parameters appropriately changed at the time of runningand the like.

The CPU 1 loads a control program pre-stored in the ROM 2 onto the RAM 3and runs the control program to control various hardware units asdescribed above, thereby operating whole of the apparatus as themulti-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the presentinvention.

The display control unit 6 includes a processor such as a digital signalprocessor (DSP) and controls an image to be displayed on the displayunit 5. For example, the display control unit 6 displays anidentification information reception screen for receiving useridentification information or displays a simple operation screen and adetailed operation screen to be described below on the display unit 5using image data stored in the storage unit 4, according to aninstruction of the CPU 1.

The image input unit 7 includes a light source irradiating light to amanuscript for reading, an image sensor such as a charge coupled device(CCD), or the like, and optically reads image data of the manuscript.Further, the image input unit 7 forms an optical image reflected fromthe manuscript set at a prescribed read position on the image sensor tooutput analog data of red-green-blue (RGB).

The image output unit 8 prints an image on a recording medium such asrecording paper, an OHP film, or the like based on the image data outputfrom the image processing unit 9. The image output unit 8 includes aphotosensitive drum, a charger for charging the photosensitive drum to aprescribed potential, a laser writing device which emits a laser beamdepending on the image data received from an outside to generate anelectrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, a developingdevice which supplies a toner to the electrostatic latent image formedon a surface of the photosensitive drum to develop the image, a transferunit which transfers a toner image formed on the surface of thephotosensitive drum onto the recording medium, a fixing roller whichfixes the toner image onto the recording medium and the like.

The image processing unit 9 generates, for example, digital type imagedata based on the analog data input from the image input unit 7 or readsthe image data stored in the storage unit 4, performs processingdepending on each type of images, and then generates image data to beoutput (printed). The image data for outputting generated by the imageprocessing unit 9 is output to the image output unit 8.

Further, in the multi-function peripheral 100, the operation panel 10 isprovided with keys, such as functional buttons for switching functionssuch as “facsimile”, “copy”, “printing”, “mail”, and the like, a numerickey used to input value of each parameter, a start button, a cancel key,an enter key for fixing a received instruction, and an “output” key forimage forming a image of the manuscript read through the image inputunit 7 to the recording paper and the like.

The display unit 5 includes, for example, an LCD, an electroluminescence(EL) panel, or the like and displays an image to be output (printed) onthe recording paper through the image output unit 8. Further, thedisplay unit 5 displays information to be notified to the user, such asa state of the multi-function peripheral 100, a job processingsituation, an image of a manuscript read by the image input unit 7, anda confirmation of an operation content of the operation panel 10 and thelike.

Further, the display unit 5 displays a reception screen which receivesan instruction relating to adjustment of parameters from a user at thetime of adjusting the parameters of a prescribed function. In moredetail, the simple operation screen (large gap input reception screen)or the detailed operation screen (small gap input reception screen) isdisplayed depending on an individual's ability such as maintenanceability, specialized knowledge, or the like of the user. The simpleoperation screen and the detailed operation screen have differentdegrees of detail for received instructions in adjustment of theparameters.

FIG. 2 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of the simpleoperation screen displayed on the display unit 5 in the multi-functionperipheral 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, andFIG. 3 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of the detailedoperation screen displayed on the display unit 5 in the multi-functionperipheral 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

The simple operation screen 51 receives an input of values having aninterval equal to or more than a prescribed threshold value when thereare a plurality of parameters relating to a prescribed function and itis needed to adjust the parameters at the time of adjusting thefunction. That is, only any one of the numbers (values) increasing ordecreasing at an interval of the threshold value is received through thesimple operation screen 51. Thereby, in adjusting the parameters,operability of unskilled persons who may not perform a detailedadjustment is enhanced.

In an example of the simple operation screen 51 as illustrated in FIG.2, for the “TH-UM”, the “TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1” in adjusting thefixing temperature, as described above, a case of receiving the input ofthe values having the interval equal to or more than the prescribedthreshold value is illustrated.

In the simple operation screen 51, for example, a plain paper system isadditionally divided into items of color plain paper, monochrome plainpaper, both sides of the color plain paper, and both sides of themonochrome plain paper, and the simple operation screen 51 receives thevalues of the “TH-UM”, the “TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1” for the items,respectively, from the user.

In detail, the simple operation screen 51 is provided with numberincreasing-decreasing keys 51 a, 51 a, . . . , for receiving aninstruction to display values increased or decreased at an interval of“5” or “10”, a reset key 51 b for resetting the displayed values, ascroll bar 51 c for moving to another page, and input frames 51 d, 51 d,. . . , in which the values (numbers) to be input are displayed. Theuser may select, for example, the input frame 51 d of a prescribed itemand appropriately operate any one of the number increasing-decreasingkeys 51 a to display a desired value in the input frame 51 d. Thus thevalue maybe input.

The simple operation screen 51 is configured to be used by a person whohas low maintenance ability and does not have specialized knowledge forthe apparatus such as unskilled persons, for example, an unskilledservice man or a store-owner. In the simple operation screen 51illustrated in FIG. 2, since an operator need not perform the detailedoperation, a confusion of the operator in adjustment of the parametersmay be prevented so as to improve the operability.

Meanwhile, when the plurality of parameters relating to the function atthe time of adjusting the prescribed function are present and there is aneed to adjust the parameters, a detailed operation screen 52illustrated in FIG. 3 receives values having an interval narrower thanthe threshold value relating to the simple operation screen 51illustrated in FIG. 2. Thereby, at the time of adjusting the parameters,the detailed adjustment may be achieved.

In the example of the detailed operation screen 52 as illustrated inFIG. 3, in adjusting the fixing temperature, for the “TH-UM”, the“TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1”, the input of the more detailed values thanthe simple operation screen 51 is illustrated. As similar to the case ofFIG. 2, the plain paper system is divided into items of color plainpaper, monochrome plain paper, both sides of the color plain paper, andboth sides of the monochrome plain paper.

In detail, the detailed operation screen 52 includes numberincreasing-decreasing keys 52 a, 52 a, . . . , for receiving aninstruction to display values increased or decreased at an interval of“1” or “2”, a reset key 52 b for resetting the displayed values, ascroll bar 52 c for moving to another page, and input frames 52 d, 52 d,. . . , in which the values (numbers) to be input are displayed. Theuser may select, for example, the input frame 52 d of prescribed itemsand appropriately operate any one of the number increasing-decreasingkeys 52 a to display a desired value in the input frame 52 d. Thus thevalue maybe input. Thereby, it is possible to input a more detailedvalue in the detailed operation screen 52 than the simple operationscreen 51.

The detailed operation screen 52 may be configured to be used by aperson having high maintenance abilities or specialized knowledge forthe apparatus. In the detailed operation screen 52 illustrated in FIG.3, an expert such as a skilled service man having extensive experiencemay adjust the parameters in detail making the most use of his ownknow-how.

The storage unit 4 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage mediumsuch as a flash memory, an EEPROM, an HDD, a magneto-resistive memory(MRAM), a ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), an OUM or the like.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing the case of adjusting the parametersusing the simple operation screen 51 or the detailed operation screen 52in the multi-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 1 of thepresent invention. For the convenience of explanation, the embodiment ofthe present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2and 3.

For example, when the user wants to adjust the fixing temperature in thefixing function, he/she appropriately operates the operation panel 10and instructs to display the reception screen for the adjustment.Herein, the CPU 1 receives the instruction to display the receptionscreen through the operation panel 10 (step S101).

In this case, the CPU 1 instructs the display control unit 6 to displaythe reception screen for receiving the user identification informationand the display control unit 6 displays the reception screen on thedisplay unit 5. Herein, the user identification information needs to beallocated only to the skilled service man having the high maintenanceabilities or specialized knowledge for the apparatus.

The CPU 1 monitors the operation panel 10 to determine whether itreceives the user identification information (step S102).

For example, when the user is a service man allocated with the useridentification information and inputs the user identificationinformation by operating the operation panel 10, the CPU 1 determinesthat it receives the user identification information (YES in step S102)and instructs the display control unit 6 to display the detailedoperation screen 52.

The display control unit 6 displays the detailed operation screen 52illustrated in FIG. 3 on the display unit 5 according to the instructionof the CPU 1 (step S103).

In this case, the user selects an input frame 52 d of prescribed itemsand appropriately operates any one of the number increasing-decreasingkeys 52 a to display the desired values in the input frame 52 d byincreasing or decreasing the values at an internal of “1” or “2”. Thusthe value is input.

The user repeatedly performs the foregoing operations on each item.Thereby, the CPU 1 receives the input of the detailed values having aninterval of “1” or more for each parameter “TH-UM”, “TH-US1”, and“TH-LM1” of each item through the detailed operation screen 52 (stepS104).

Next, the CPU 1 adjusts each parameter “TH-UM”, “TH-US1”, and “TH-LM1”based on the received values (step S105).

Meanwhile, when the user does not have the user identificationinformation and may not input the user identification information, forexample, when the user identification information is not input for aprescribed time, the CPU 1 determines that it does not receive the useridentification information (NO in step S102) and instructs the displaycontrol unit 6 to display the simple operation screen 51.

The display control unit 6 displays the simple operation screen 51 asillustrated in FIG. 2 on the display unit 5 according to the instructionof the CPU 1 (step S106).

In this case, the user selects the input frame 51 d of the prescribeditems and appropriately operates any one of the numberincreasing-decreasing keys 51 a to display the desired values in theinput frame 51 d by increasing or decreasing the values at an internalof “5” or “10”. Thus the value is input.

The user repeatedly performs the foregoing operations on each item.Thereby, the CPU 1 receives the input of the values having an intervalof “5” or more for each parameter “TH-UM”, “TH-US1”, and “TH-LM1” ofeach item through the simple operation screen 51 (step S107). Next, theprocessing proceeds to step S105.

Embodiment 2

Even in the multi-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 2 ofthe present invention, similar to Embodiment 1, in adjusting theparameters, the simple operation screen and the detailed operationscreen having different degrees of detail for received instructions aredisplayed on the display unit 5.

FIG. 5 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of the simpleoperation screen displayed on the display unit 5 in the multi-functionperipheral 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, andFIG. 6 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of a detailedoperation screen displayed on the display unit 5 in the multi-functionperipheral 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

In an example of an simple operation screen 53 illustrated in FIG. 5,for the “TH-UM”, the “TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1” in adjusting the fixingtemperature, as described above, the case of receiving the input of thevalues having the interval equal to or more than the prescribedthreshold value is illustrated.

In the simple operation screen 53, for example, a plain paper system isadditionally divided into items of color plain paper, monochrome plainpaper, both sides of the color plain paper, and both sides of themonochrome plain paper and the simple operation screen 53 receives thevalues of the “TH-UM”, the “TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1” for the items,respectively, from the user.

In detail, the simple operation screen 53 includes numberincreasing-decreasing keys 53 a, 53 a, . . . (instruction receptionsection) for receiving an instruction to display values increased ordecreased at an interval of “5”, a reset key 53 b for resetting thedisplayed values, a scroll bar 53 c for moving to another page, andinput frames 53 d, 53 d, . . . , in which the values (numbers) to beinput are displayed. The user may select, for example, the input frame53 d of prescribed items and appropriately operate any one of the numberincreasing-decreasing keys 53 a to display the desired values in theinput frame 53 d. Thus the value maybe input.

Since an operator need not perform the detailed operation in theabove-described simple operation screen 53, a confusion of the operatorin adjustment of the parameters may be prevented so as to improve theoperability.

Meanwhile, when the plurality of parameters relating to the function atthe time of adjusting the prescribed function are present and there is aneed to adjust the parameters, the detailed operation screen 54 mayreceive the input of the values having the interval narrower than thethreshold value relating to the simple operation screen 53 illustratedin FIG. 5. In more detail, in the multi-function peripheral 100according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, the detailedoperation screen 54 may allow the user to directly input the parametervalues using the numeric pad (number reception section) of the operationpanel 10. Thereby, at the time of adjusting the parameters, a detailedadjustment may be achieved.

In the example of the detailed operation screen 54 as illustrated inFIG. 6, in adjusting the fixing temperature, for the “TH-UM”, the“TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1”, the input the more detailed values than thesimple operation screen 53 is illustrated. As similar to the case ofFIG. 5, the plain paper system is divided into items of color plainpaper, monochrome plain paper, both sides of the color plain paper, andboth sides of the monochrome plain paper.

In detail, the detailed operation screen 54 includes input frames 54 d,54 d, . . . , in which the values (numbers) to be input from the userthrough the operation panel 10 (numeric pad) are displayed, a reset key54 b for resetting the displayed values, and a scroll bar 54 c formoving to another page. For example, the user may select, for example,the input frame 54 d of prescribed items and appropriately operate thenumeric pad of the operation panel 10 to write the desired values in theinput frame 54. Thus the value maybe input. As described above, the usermay freely input any number through the numeric pad of the operationpanel 10, and therefore it is possible to input the more detailed valuesthe detailed operation screen 54 than the simple operation screen 53.

The components having functions common to Embodiment 1 are denoted bythe same reference numerals, and therefore will not be described indetail.

Embodiment 3

Even in the multi-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 3 ofthe present invention, similar to Embodiment 1, in adjusting theparameters, the simple operation screen and the detailed operationscreen having different degrees of detail for received instructions aredisplayed on the display unit 5.

However, in the multi-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 3of the present invention, the configuration of the simple operationscreen is different from those of Embodiments 1 and 2. In detail, thesimple operation screen according to Embodiment 3 is configured to allowthe user to select any one of the plurality of predetermined values sohaving prescribed interval.

FIG. 7 is an exemplified view illustrating an example of the simpleoperation screen displayed on the display unit 5 in the multi-functionperipheral 100 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

In an example of a simple operation screen 55 illustrated in FIG. 7, forthe “TH-UM”, the “TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1” of each item in adjustingthe fixing temperature, as described above, the case in which any one ofthe plurality of predetermined values is input is illustrated.

The simple operation screen 55 includes input frames 55 d, 55 d, . . . ,in which the values (numbers) to be input are displayed, a reset key 55b for resetting the displayed values, and a scroll bar 55 c for movingto another page.

Further, the simple operation screen 55 is provided with numberselecting keys 55 a, 55 a, . . . (selection reception section) whichreceive a selection of any one of the plurality of values as value to bedisplayed in the prescribed input frame 55 d from the user andcorrespond to the plurality of predetermined values respectively. Thatis, as the number selecting key 55 a, a “high” key, a “middle” key, anda “low” key are installed and numbers corresponding to each of thesekeys are pre-stored in a parameter value table of the storage unit 4.Therefore, when any one of the keys is operated (selected) by the user,a number corresponding to the operated number selecting key 55 a isdisplayed in the input frame 55 d.

The parameter value table is stored in the storage unit 4 of themulti-function peripheral 100 according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 8 is adiagram conceptually describing the parameter value table stored in thestorage unit 4 in the multi-function peripheral 100 according toEmbodiment 3 of the present invention.

The parameter value table is stored with the plurality of predeterminedvalues having a prescribed interval as the values to be displayed in theprescribed input frame 55 d, corresponding to the “high” key, the“middle” key, and the “low” key (number selecting key 55 a) displayed onthe simple operation screen 55 of FIG. 7. That is, for the “TH-UM”, the“TH-US1”, and the “TH-LM1” of each item, the values having theprescribed interval for each of the “high” key, the “middle” key, andthe “low” key are stored.

Therefore, when the user selects the input frame 55 d of the prescribeditems and selects (operates) any one of the “high” key, the “middle”key, and the “low” key, values of the parameter value tablecorresponding to selected soft key is displayed in the input frame 55 dand the parameter is adjusted based on the displayed value.

Since an operator need not perform the detailed operation in theabove-described simple operation screen 55, a confusion of the operatorin adjustment of the parameters may be prevented so as to improve theoperability.

The components having functions common to Embodiment 1 are denoted bythe same reference numerals, and therefore will not be described indetail.

In the foregoing description, two operation screens such as the detailedoperation screen and the simple operation screen as the plurality ofreception screens having different degrees of detail for receivedinstructions are described by way of example, but the present inventionis not limited thereto, and therefore the reception screens may beconfigured to include three or more.

Further, the case of the combination of the simple operation screen 51and the detailed operation screen 52, and the case of the combination ofthe simple operation screen 53 and the detailed operation screen 54 aredescribed above, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Forexample, the combinations such as the simple operation screen 51 and thedetailed operation screen 54, the simple operation screen 53 and thedetailed operation screen 52, the simple operation screen 55 and thedetailed operation screen 52, and the like may be changed.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric equipment having a function in whichparameter is set, comprising: a display unit configured to display aplurality of reception screens having different degrees of detail forreceived instructions for adjusting the parameter, the plurality ofreception screens receiving input of parameter values at the time ofreceiving the instruction; a small gap input reception screen configuredto receive an input of values having a specified interval; a large gapinput reception screen configured to receive an input of values havingan interval larger than the specified interval; and a numerical inputwhich receives an inputted number, wherein the small gap input receptionscreen receives the input of the parameter values through the numericalinput, and the large gap input reception screen comprises an instructionreception section configured to receive an instruction for displayingthe values having the interval larger than the specified interval in anascending order or a descending order, and receives the input of theparameter values based on the value displayed according to theinstruction received by the instruction reception section.
 2. Theelectric equipment according to claim 1, comprising a storage unitconfigured to store a plurality of values having a prescribed interval,wherein the large gap input reception screen comprises selectionreception section configured to receive a selection from a usercorresponding to each of the plurality of values, and, when any one ofthe selection reception section is selected, adjusts the parameter basedon a value corresponding to the selected selection reception section. 3.The electric equipment according to claim 1, comprising a receptionsection configured to receive user identification data, wherein thedisplay unit displays any one of the reception screens based on the useridentification data received by the reception section.
 4. An inputreception method of parameter for use with an electric equipment havinga function in which parameter is set, which includes a display unitconfigured to display a plurality of reception screens having differentdegrees of detail for received instructions for adjusting the parameter,the plurality of reception screens receiving input of parameter valuesat the time of receiving the instruction and a numerical input whichreceives an inputted number, the input reception method comprising:displaying a small gap input reception screen configured to receive aninput of values having a specified interval or a large gap inputreception screen configured to receive an input of values having aninterval larger than the specified interval; receiving the input of theparameter values through the numerical input on the small gap inputreception screen; receiving an instruction for displaying the valueshaving the interval larger than the specified interval in an ascendingorder or a descending order on the large gap input reception screen;receiving the input of the parameter values based on the value displayedaccording to the instruction received.